Raindrops on Roses

1. There is a moment toward the end of the play that I like to peek through the curtain and watch the audience squirm. They squirm with giant smiles on their faces. Those big ass “holy shit, oh no, oh no, they aren’t gonna… I can’t believe I’m watching this” kind of smiles. My favorite is when the smiles turn to laughter or, as was the case last night, when one person turns to the next and, as they both giggle, the comiserate about how they can’t believe we’re gonna actually do the thing we’re doing.

2. The silent play that happens at the same time as the textual one. Jordana runs a loose ship, if that can be compared to a tight one, but she has created an environment where respect and trust are absolute. We know the subtext as well or, to be honest, better than the text. All the way through the show, the actors are speaking with one another, we’re towing a line, we’re making bets, and all of it is super-textual. In order for a world to have that, you have to have a text as rich and as specific as this one.

3. Characters’ minds are changed in the course of each scene. Every moment in this play is a battle, and when you are on stage, sometimes you are losing a battle and sometimes you are winning, and that feeling is just magnificent. Especially since my character wins more than he loses.

4. There is a moment in the play for each and every character to lock eyes with mine, to ask me for information, and every single one of those moments, something wonderful happens.

5. Watching other actors grow into fantastic actors at the same time that you feel yourself growing with them, almost keeping up with them.

6. The moment that the whole play changes, that the audience is given something they were simply not expecting at all, and the fact that the moment is just seconds before the curtain comes down on act one. Knowing that intermission is an annoyance to the audience, they want so bad to see how this whole thing turns out. And that feeling of knowing that intermission is necessary for the actors to shower and for the stage to be cleaned…

I’ve never produced a play I didn’t love, except once and you all seemed to like that play anyway. This show has snuck up on us all, in a way, on us and on our audience. So you’ve only got three more days, and the weekend is selling out. Come tonight or you honestly might not be able to come at all.